tucker



R. H. TUCKER. NAVIGABLE VESSEL.

Patented Apr. 12, 1859.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

R. H. TUCKER, JR., OF NEW YORK,

CONSTRUCTION OF NAVIGABLE VESSELS.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 23,626, dated April 12, 1859.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, RICHARD Homsnoox TUCKER, J12, of the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved form of Navigable Vessels; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, in which Figure 1, is a plan of a vessel constructed according to my invention. Fig. 2, is a midship longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3, is a view looking toward the stern.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the several figures.

This invention consists in the construction of a navigable vessel of timber or iron with its horizontal section in the form of an isosceles triangle with vertical sides and a flat bottom, the base or third side of the triangular figure at whose ends are the two equal angles constituting the stern of the vessel and the opposite angle the bow, the advantages of which form are that it gives a very light draft of water with very great carrying capacity, and makes a vessel of great strength for the weight of material employed, and is constructed entirely of straight material requiring neither keel nor stern post, and when a suitable system of propulsion which I propose to use, and which constitutes a separate invention is adapted to it, is -apable of being propelled at a high speed with comparatively small powe 1 as the resistance to its motion through the water is only such as is presented to the bows of ordinary vessels.

A. is the bow and D, D, the stern whose width I prefer to be generally not more than one-third of the extreme length of the vessel.

C, is an air chamber in the stern of the vessel. from which air, which constitutes the propelling medium is forced out upon the water astern, the bottom of which chamber is flush with the bottom of the vessel.

(1, a, is an opening through which the air is expelled from the chamber C, to drive the vessel ahead, said opening extending all across the stern from the bottom to such a height that it will always be submerged or below the level of the water, outside of the vessel.

The chamber C, must be perfectly air tight, so that there will be no escape except at the opening a, a. I propose generally, to keep this chamber constantly filled with compressed air, for propelling, by forcing the air into it by means of one or more compressing air pumps driven by one or more steam engines.

The pressure of this air may be further augmented, if the steam engine or engines employed are of the high pressure kind, by allowing the exhaust steam to escape into the air chamber where it will yield to the air in the chamber a port-ion of its heat which will be the means of expanding and increasing the pressure of said air.

\Vhen there no pressure of air in the chamber C, the chamber contains water up to the same level as the ater outside the vessel, but when air is constantly forced into the said chamber to maintain a sufiicient pressure therein, the water is expelled therefrom, either entirely or down to below the upper portion of the opening a, (1 and escaping therefrom against the body of water astern, it causes the propulsion of the vessel in the opposite direction or ahead.

Instead of forcing air into the chambers C, E, E, by a pump, charges of air and steam may be alternately admitted and the air expanded by the heat which it takes up from the steam and a pressure be thus produced in the chambers sutlicient to cause escape through the apertures a, a.

The chamber C, may be divided vertically and parallel or nearly so, with the center of the vessel, into two or more compartments, each containing an aperture like the aperture a, a, or constituting a portion of an aperture extending all across the stern like a, a, and the air may be compressed in these compartments alternately so as to have an intermittent action in each.

\Vhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is The construction of navigable vessels in the form of an isosceles triangle with vertical sides and fiat bottom the base or that side of the triangular figure which terminates in the two equal angles constituting the stern in combination with the airchamber constructed substantially as and for the purpose described.

R. H. TUCKER, JR.

Witnesses W. TUSGI-I, JAMES F. BUCKLEY. 

